Man pleads guilty to assault, denied release for baby’s upcoming birth

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Photo: Zack Burris

A man pleading guilty to assaulting his girlfriend at her Gainesville apartment has been denied his request to be released for the upcoming birth of his baby. Twenty-one-year-old Zack Burris remains in the Ozark County jail until his sentencing hearing on Jan. 8.

According to the Ozark County Times, Burris pleaded guilty on Nov. 6 to second-degree domestic assault before Circuit Judge Craig Carter. He was originally charged with first-degree domestic assault, but the charge was amended by Ozark County Prosecuting Attorney John Garrabrant.

Burris’ plea was not part of a plea agreement. Garrabrant dismissed another charge of armed criminal action and told Judge Carter he agreed to cap the recommended sentence at no more than seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. Burris’ public defender, Lauren Kate Welborn, said she was planning to argue for him to be admitted to a 120-day institutional treatment program within the Department of Corrections.

After the plea was accepted, Welborn asked Judge Carter to consider a bond for Burris. She said the victim, his girlfriend and the pregnant mother of his unborn child, was in the courtroom and asked for Burris to be released to witness the birth of their child scheduled for this month by c-section. Garrabrant said the state of Missouri was against the request and showed photos of the victim’s bruised and swollen face after the alleged assault in August. Judge Carter denied the request and remanded Burris back to the Ozark County jail.

According to the probable cause statement, an Ozark County deputy arrived Aug. 2 at the residence on Runway Loop and discovered a woman with severe lacerations and contusions on her face. Medical personnel were dispatched, and before the female was transported to Baxter Regional Medical Center, she accused Burris of assaulting her at her apartment. She also stated she didn’t know where he was at the time.

Deputies were later escorted to the victim’s apartment by a family member. Authorities reportedly discovered several broken and jagged pieces of what appeared to be porcelain. They also reported blood in several areas between a mattress and the apartment’s front door.

The reporting deputy said he was familiar with the suspect. He later located Burris at a residence in a mobile home park and arrested him on suspicion of assault. During an interview the next day, Burris reportedly admitted striking the victim in the face with a coffee mug.

In another interview, the victim stated she was in a romantic relationship with Burris and pregnant with his child. She claimed she was resting in her apartment when Burris came in and laid next to her on the bed, and when she refused his sexual overtures, he became angry and went into the kitchen.

The victim said she opened her eyes and was struck with an object. She found herself halfway off the bed, and she got up and fled to a neighboring residence for assistance. Records show she needed 13 stitches to a 3-inch gash to her face. She also had scratches on the cornea of her eye, a fractured nose with a small portion of it missing, a swollen discolored area on her forehead and a concussion leading to bleeding in her brain cavity.

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